LG VX-8700

I've been trying to tether the VX8700 using a BT connection to my laptop (mostly for when I travel on occasion) and have had nothing but problems with it going dormant and then disconnecting, then redialing every couple of minutes. I followed instructions on HowardForums, read a ton of threads for a couple of hours and still have no solution. If I ping google.com from a [DOS] command prompt window, it stays connected but seems unnecessary and I don't understand why it solves the problem temporarily. What's making it drop? Anyone else having this problem? Anyone know a solution, please?